In the 10/15/17 Dem debate, Bernie Sanders commented on unfettered capitalism. Arguments can be made against socialism, but capitalism has reached a new low. Big business and greed are responsible for hollowing out the American middle class. Our social and tax policies tend to ebb and flow; one can argue that union demands, subsidies to the disadvantaged, and taxes on the wealthy may have been excessive in the 60s and 70s. The pendulum has since swung completely the other way. Not only have we been subsidizing big industry for decades, but we have bailed them out numerous times (savings and loans, auto companies, mortgages), and then they found even more creative ways to funnel the wealth upward, see links below. Mainstream Democrats are just as complicit as Republicans because most of government is bought. Progressives are the only ones speaking up for the working class. If you think too many handouts are now being proposed, consider what we haven’t gained during the decades of stagnation.
You may not be aware that government fines/remedies go into the general fund and never benefit those that are harmed. The only agency that passes reparations back to those harmed is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, defined and implemented by Elizabeth Warren. And then those in power couldn’t stomach allowing her to lead it.
Although these two reports may leave you feeling sick and depressed, I strongly encourage you to read and digest/understand/contemplate.
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/10/15/aaron_glantz_homewreckers_book_housing_crisis
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/10/15/aaron_gantz_steve_mnuchin_housing_crisis